Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

The axle is out of alignment and putting pressure on that bearing or the tire has a weird wear pattern putting pressure on the bearing.

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I would think if the axle was out of alignment it would happen on both sides of the axle not just one side.

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I have looked at the axle pretty close and can find nothing.
The tire has no unusual wear pattern and looks no different than the other tires.
I may try to move the tire to another axle or move it to the spare.
The tires are almost 3 years old and will be changed out over the winter.
I always balance the tires so that should not be an issue either.
I have checked and looked and I am still at a loss to figure it out.
Same bearing twice now, it just makes no sense to me.
The loading on the road side with the tool cabinet and a generator has been the only thing I had not considered.
The trailer does have about 1500 lbs in tongue weight so the front axle is probably loaded heavier than the other two.
I hope the China bearing change to the USA made makes the difference.
Thanks for every ones suggestions.
I appreciate the help.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

The tire would show some sort of abnormal wear if the axle was out of alignment. If the tire is wearing the tread fairly even and not featheredged across the tread it's good. Trailer loading definitely might be a factor. More weight on one wheel is possible....

The type and quality of grease made a huge difference for me years ago on a trailer I had. It was eating bearings and only had 3500lb axles on a 22' box trailer. It would routinely trash a bearing and I was not towing long distances. It got to the point that every trip I made to the track I jacked the trailer up with car unloaded to feel the bearings. I carried complete new sets with seals.

I started using synthetic waterproof grease and never had a failure again.
That was a fairly new product at the time and was far better than the usual stuff.

My present trailer has Nev-r-lube sealed bearing cartridges......I've replaced them once for no other reason than I felt better with new. I kept the old ones for spares......

Blown tires and burned up bearings on the road makes for a rough trip.....been there....

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

From looking on the internet at pictures of the bearing race I removed the last time it seems to look like one posted from a bearing cage failure.
I am not sure what would make a cage fail but the softer material the cage is made out of is imbedded and stuck to the outer race like was shown in the photo's.

I have been using Mobil 1 Synthetic wheel bearing grease.
Even after the failure the grease was still clean looking and still red except in the bearing are where it was hot and it was discolored there but did not smell burnt even though it was hot and smoking when I noticed the failure.

I am going to rebuild both hubs on the axle with new USA made Timken bearings, install new hubs on both sides, and new brake assemblies. I am also going to move the rear axle tires to the front axle and replace the one that has failed twice now with the spare tire.
I am at a loss on anything else to do.
Anyone else have other suggestions.
I will try most anything once.
Thanks
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,
As far as the American-made and off-shore-made bearings, one may be better and stronger but all of the bearings on your trailer were the same and only one failed.
Just saying.
Dan

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Yes, you brought up an interesting point I had not considered about the loading inside the trailer. I had not considered that.
The tool cabinets are on the road side like the failure along with the generator.
It is a 24 ft trailer so space is limited by the length. I had it custom made at 24 ft to stay within the total length laws with the 40 ft tow vehicle.
I am looking to rearrange some of the load to the rear and reduce the tongue weight and maybe take some load off the front axle but that is going to be difficult with the lift.
The loading inside of the trailer may be the key.
This is a 24 ft stacker trailer with 3 7000-8000 lb axles with a gross weight of under 16,000 lbs. It weighs just under 9,300 lbs empty.

The reason I am changing the bearings to USA made is the friend I help with a Top Sportsman car has his bearings packed yearly at a trailer place in Phoenix AZ. They told him anytime they find a China made wheel bearing they throw it away and replace it with a USA made. They told him the China made bearings are good for only one year of use.
Of course they sell bearings so they have an incentive to do that also.

I have all the parts now to rework the front axle and will get that done next week.
Then it is off on a 1200 mile round trip racing trip on which I hope there are no bearing problems.
Thanks for the info and I will post upon return from the racing trip on how the bearings hold up.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

The Chinese look-alike stuff is almost all junk. They make something that looks like the good stuff, but it ain't. I go through this on a daily basis in my auto repair shop. The Timkens may not totally solve your problem but it's a darn good place to start. Thats why Mark Williams, Strange etc use only Timken. Good Luck!

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Could the axle be bent slightly? Someone mentioned load distribution. With a few minutes at a truck scale could you get left/right and axle load numbers?

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Being a retired UPS mechanic and seeing my fair share of trl bearings ....going to Timken is a great move.
Then get you a temp gun... and after an hour or so of towing pull over , in a safe area of course .... shoot the temp of all tire tread surface and side wall and then shoot the hubs ... record all info and then analyze .... This can tell you a lot about your load placement and maybe where to move the load around to equalize temps and weight on each tire.
you can also test with an empty trailer to see the big picture !

Hope this helps !

Rick